Barred Owls, Bella, Bandit & Bear Poop

We finished the Shawangunk section of the Long Path! But at what cost? Silent Panther and I did 13 miles from Sam’s Point to Berme Road. Three days later, we are still reckoning the physical and emotional toll. Was it all worth it? If you ask me in a few years, I will probably say “Yes.” Speaking of years, I realize that I now have too many of them! My knees, calves and feet are unanimous that any future hikes should be a maximum of 10 miles…

So, Silent Panther said we should leave before dawn, and watch the sun rise as we drove up the Thruway. Sure, nice idea! We were up at 4 AM, and on the road by 5. It was definitely still pitch black as we took the big curve at Hillburn. As we approached Woodbury, the huge fields on the right were covered in a thick layer of ground fog. A spectacular and spooky sight. We took the New Paltz exit, and zig-zagged up the mountain. At the scenic overlook, there was a superb sunrise. Thus far, our timing was perfect.

Berme Road was a pretty cool discovery…people living the good life, truly out in the woods. We left Goku on the shoulder, and made the bizarre journey to Cragsmoor. Such a charming town…on top of a mountain! Everything was going great, but: the gate at Sam’s Point was locked! No parking allowed anywhere else. Uh oh, I hope they open at 8:00 AM. We drove to the nearest deli (a loooong drive) to kill some time. Another customer said that she had seen a black bear that morning. Interesting! But not relevant to us, right? Riiiight?

Back at the gate…it was still locked at 8:10! But who is that behind us? She whipped out a key and drove on in. I pulled up behind her and she closed the gate on the nose of the Ferrari! (Okay, it’s not actually an Italian supercar, but I did put a Ferrari logo on the hood of my 1999 Celica). I protested, and Ranger Rita said that the gate opens at 9:00. I told her of our dreams and aspirations for the day, and she agreed to open the gate a bit early. Wow. Okay. We cooled our heels til 8:50, when they finally let us in. $10 (!) to park in the old Ice Caves parking lot, now part of Minnewaska State Park. SP and I were off and hiking by 9 AM.

Well, we were pain free and full of energy as we set out. The awesome views started almost immediately; you gotta love the ‘Gunks! After about a mile, we decided to take a detour to check out the Ice Caves. If this decision had come at the end of our journey, when we were dragging ourselves along the last mile, the idea of extra distance would have been laughed off (with an exhausted and very dry laugh J. In any case the caves were super cool, and are highly recommended.

We then set off through miles of blueberry scrub and pitch pines, heading North along a ridge. Then down into a valley with a spectacular waterfall on Verkeeder Kill. Then around the other side of the ridge, with multiple viewpoints from stacks of sedimentary rocks. By the time we reached High Point, we had hiked about 7 miles. We were tired, but not in bad shape…yet! We had drunk more than half of our water, though…nice hot day with strong sunshine.

After that point, things started to get really weird. For one thing, we had a bizarre series of wildlife encounters. There was a crusty old crow, who flew back and forth across our path for an hour, repeating his raspy retorts. There were many tiny toads hopping along our trail. There was…Bear Poop! Huge and purple and full of blueberries! Not be outdone, the local coyotes had shat early and often. In one case, a coyote had pooped on top of a stone cairn that was marking the trail. Impressive product placement!

We took a short detour to Panther Rock. We did not speak, but climbed silently to separate perches, where we remained alone with our thoughts for awhile. A magical spot.

Then, things got weirder. Rounding a corner, we saw a pitbull staring us down! We froze and the dog froze too. After 5 seconds, I yelled out, “There’s a dog here!”, figuring that the owner was nearby. Suddenly, the dog turned and ran down the trail, dragging its leash behind. After a respectful pause, we rounded the corner, prepared to encounter a neglectful owner. But what was this? Another pitbull, this one stuck with its leash wrapped around a boulder. How strange…if you did let your dogs run free, why wouldn’t you remove their leashes? The dog seemed calm, but I did not dare approach it. We were miles from any human contact.

We headed on down the trail, but the dog owner never materialized. We started to come up with scenarios that would explain the situation. Silent Panther is a true animal lover, and he expressed his concern that the second canine might be trapped there all night. Okay, I said, I will make one phone call…

That call was to the Minnewaska Park office, and it caused me to be called back by the Park Rangers, the Sheriff, the Animal Control officer, and the dog owners. I spent a LOT of time on the phone, while still hiking down the trail. We were exhausted, and trying to conserve our remaining water. We learned that Bella had run down the trail, and Bandit was stuck on the rock. Rangers had set out from Sam’s Point…but that was 9 miles away! I suggested that the owners hike up from Berme Road, which was only 3 miles from the stranded pooch.

Well, the last couple of miles turned into a surreal journey. SP became delirious, and went laughing and dancing down the trail. I had hit a wall, physically, and was feeling a lot of pain in my calves, knees and right foot. I kept hearing a strange rhythm behind us, a type of clicking. Finally an enormous hound burst into view! Bandit had snapped his nylon web leash clean in two, and escaped his rocky prison. He turned out to be very friendly and obedient. I called his owner, who was waiting at the trailhead. She was happy, but where was Bella? Her husband would walk up the hill toward us, calling her.

Sure enough, we heard a loud vocalization in the woods, but it did not sound human. I finally recognized the call of a barred owl…very cool! We never did encounter the hubby, but that story has a happy ending. Silent Panther and I finally stumbled out of the woods at 5 PM. It had taken us 8 hours to cover 13 miles of rugged terrain, with dramatic changes in elevation. Bandit was reunited with his mom. We collected the other vehicle, and made it home safely. I swore that I would never try to hike over 10 miles again. Before I went to sleep, I called the dog owner one last time. Bella was home safe. All’s well that ends well!